Thoughts (and occasionally fuming) about the state of science, fiction, and science fiction.

by author and technologistEdward M. Lerner

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Wild and crazy (not always in a good way) stuff

It will surprise no one who often stops by this blog that I follow science news -- but that doesn't mean I get excited about every supposed finding. Perhaps that's because some reported results are made up. See, from Scientific American, "Publishers Withdraw More than 120 Gibberish Science and Engineering Papers." Because said papers were shown to be computer-generated nonsense!

(If you're not yet ready to come down to Earth, a reprieve: NASA has a plan for "Building a Lunar Base with 3D Printing." If only NASA remembered how, once upon a time, they put people there ...)

Now, back to Earth with a thump. Today's the day Microsoft releases the final updates/patches for Windows XP. Given commonalities between XP and the more recent versions of Windows, each future batch of Windows 7/8 monthly updates, reverse engineered, becomes an instruction kit for hacking remaining copies of XP. And, the Washington Post informs us, "Government computers running Windows XP will be vulnerable." 100Ks of government computers. Because who could possible have known this day was coming?

95% or so of ATMs in the US are XP-based. It's supposedly a tailored version of XP, and banks are paying MS for additional support, but that's still (to me, anyway) cause for concern. And yet, methinks, TIME is being a bit melodramatic: "Microsoft Is About to Blow Up ATMs All Over the Country."

Meanwhile, because inviting other governments -- such as, say, free-speech bastions Russia and China -- to participate in Internet governance is such a good idea, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently published "NTIA Announces Intent to Transition Key Internet Domain Name Function." This, not to be coy, is a horrible idea.

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Featured Post: A Milestone

On October 16, 2007, Fleet of Worlds was first published. That is: ten years ago to the day. Larry and Ed at 2015 Nebula weekend This...

Energized (Newly reissued!)

"A taut near-future thriller about an energy-starved Earth held hostage by a power-mad international cartel … Lerner’s vision of the future is both topical and possible in this crisp, fast-paced hard SF adventure.” —Publishers Weekly

Dark Secret (my latest)

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InterstellarNet: Enigma (I-Net #3)

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InterstellarNet: Origins (I-Net #1)

"One of the most original, believable, thoroughly thought-out, and utterly fascinating visions ever of what interstellar contact might really be like."— Stanley Schmidt, editor of Analog

A Time Foreclosed

"A nice little foray into the paradoxes of time travel" — SFRevu

Fate of Worlds (FOW #5)

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Juggler of Worlds (FoW #2)

“A snazzy thriller/mystery that keeps us (and our hero) guessing until the very end ... Wide screen galactic scope, nifty super-science, crafty aliens, corporate corruption and cover ups, and a multi-leveled spy vs. spy vs. spy mystery with little being as it first appears make Juggler of Worlds a first class exemplar of pure SF entertainment.” —SFsite

Fleet of Worlds (FoW #1)

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ARMAGEDDON / PARADISE -- two books in one

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Small Miracles

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Fools' Experiments

“When the artificial intelligences ... go maverick, they turn out to be the true weapons of mass destruction. A fast, fun read.” — Sci Fi Weekly

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About Me

I'm a physicist and computer scientist (and an MBA, of less relevance to most of these posts). After thirty years in industry, as everything from individual technical contributor to senior vice president, I now write full-time. Mostly I write science fiction and techno-thrillers, now and again throwing in a straight science or technology article.